The time has come

The time has come for a true test of the friendships I have made over the years. 
The time has come for me to tell the world that I have a daughter for whom I love with all my heart.  Her name is Elisse Claire and she was born on October 24th, 2006.  That single event has changed me as a person, changed my life, and made me a better person in the process.  Those close to me, my best friends, and family have known for a while and have been very supportive and caring.  Now the time has come to let everyone know and see who my true friends are. 
   
I am not going to go into a lot of depth about details.  What I will say is that my daughter is being raised in a wonderful, loving, caring environment and her mother
has the full support of her local church, community and fantastic, caring friends.  Ellie and her mom both live in a wondeful apartment in a very afluent community.  I could not have asked for a better environment for my daughter to be raised in.  I had to make a very hard choice in moving to Oregon to go for my PhD as it will keep me from seeing her grow up as I would like, but financially this was the best option I had. 

I hope that my friends will act responsibly with this information and not conjure up
nasty rumors or think differently of me.  I'm still the same guy that all of you have known but now I have bigger responsibilities in life and more motivation to succeed.  I'm sure there are a few of my friends out there who can't wait to pick up the phone and call
everyone with the gossip but when they do I hope they do it responsibly, keeping my feelings in mind.  Life has not been easy for me lately and I've been going through a lot of hard times so keep in mind that rumors and gossip will not help my situation, and it would prove the kind of friend you are to me.  If you have questions or just want to see how I'm doing I welcome the call from my friends.  518-935-3275.  I am going to be very open from now on. 

I have managed to establish a circle of close friends from around the country that love and care about my well being and I also have a girlfriend who loves me dearly and cares about me as I care about her.  One of my biggest fears was telling her because I thought she would run away from me but she has proven to be there for me and I love her for it. 

I can already tell that I have changed significantly for the better as a human being as
a result of becoming a father.  I have grown up a lot this fall.  I've realized that things happen for a reason although sometimes we often don't know what that reason is.  I am more determined than ever now to succeed here in getting my PhD so that I can move on with my career and support my daughter as she grows up.  All the work I do here, all the stress, the 15 hour days, the 2nd job, everything, is so that I can be successful and take care of my daughter financially as a responsible father.   She will always know that her father cares about her and thinks about her all the time.  That is something I will make sure of.  If she ever needs me I will be there for her and I will make sure that she always feels loved.

There... that's about it... now let the text message, emails, and voicemails fly.  But keep in mind that the best information you can get is directly from the source.   If you feel yourself jumping to conclusions or starting to form opinions feel free to inquire directly from me.   Jellinger@gmail.com

What I need the most now from my friends and family is caring support, encouragement and understanding.  Without those I'm not sure if I'll make it over the enormous hurdles that lay ahead of me.

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